Mental Health

May 4, 2013By Craig Jarvis cjarvis@newsobserver.com...Over the past several decades across the country, patients who were phased out of large institutions so they could be treated in their communities found there wasn’t enough help. Without treatment, many ran afoul of the law and then tumbled into a nightmare of compounding problems.Nationally, studies estimate between 15 and 20 percent of jail and prison inmates have a serious mental illness.In North Carolina, that translates to roughly 5,500 in prison and an estimated 3,400 people languishing in jails that were built to hold those charged with crimes for only a short time, all of them with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other illnesses. To compare, the state has 850 beds in its mental hospitals...read article

May 4, 2013Researchers at the Washington, D.C.-based AARP Foundation have pinpointed social isolation as a factor, along with housing, income and hunger, that can lead to catastrophe for older people. Stacks of medical studies tie living alone to increased rates of physical and mental illness, another indication that rising Medicare costs will be even tougher to contain.Faced with the alternative of long-term care, most older people prefer to live alone, but it’s not easy and there are emotional and physical risks. The keys to successful “aging in community” involve support from family and sometimes government, advocacy in health care, keeping up mobility, access to transportation and social involvement. read story

By Matthew Burns and Laura LeslieFebruary 21, 2013The state Senate voted unanimously Thursday for a plan to allow patients with mental illness who live in group homes to stay there for the time being. read article

NAMI Statement: The President’s Mental Health ProposalsArlington, Va. Jan. 16, 2013 - Michael J. Fitzpatrick, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) issued the following statement about President Obama’s “Plan to Protect Children and Communities from Gun Violence,” released today:"NAMI applauds the President’s plan for its significant provisions to strengthen and expand mental health services. The plan in fact reflects the thrust of many of NAMI’s recommendations that we offered Vice President Biden’s task force in the days immediately following the Newtown, Conn. tragedy. Out of tragedy, Americans today have an opportunity that probably comes only once in a generation. The mental health care system has long been broken. The challenge is not to fix it, but to build it anew, focusing on early screening, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. The President’s plan takes important steps toward meeting that challenge, including:

Early identification and intervention including training for teachers, school resource officers and others in a position to spot the signs of mental illness and provide assistance.

Steps for improving mental health and substance abuse treatment for individuals between the ages of 16 and 25.

Finalizing mental health parity regulations for health insurance.

Training more than 5,000 additional mental health professionals to serve students and young adults.

Launching efforts to improve understanding of mental illness and the importance of mental health treatment.

The President emphasizes the need for parents, teachers and school counselors to work together. In addition, NAMI emphasizes the importance of family education and support as a critical component in meeting the challenge. The President correctly notes that the vast majority of people living with mental illness are not violent. NAMI supports fixing the existing federal background check system for gun purchases and emphasizes that this should include provisions to protect privacy and ensure that people will seek mental health treatment when needed. NAMI is eager to work with the Administration and Congress on the implementation of these important steps."About NAMINAMI is the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.twitter.com/namicommunicatefacebook.com/officialNAMI

...a Senate proposal could have potentially harmful consequences... would require physicians to obtain prior authorization from the state's Medicaid managed care system to prescribe medication for any kind of mental illness. "I know their intentions are good, but they are not well-informed, ...what works for one patient may not work for another. Giving patients cheaper drugs doesn't always pay off, Dr. Assad Meymandi, a Raleigh psychiatrist and neurologist said..."The incidence of suicide goes sky high. The incidence of recurrence, psychosis and readmission, recidivism goes sky high," he said. read article

by Katherine GustafsonFriday 15 March 2013A growing network of programs is teaching kids how to understand and express their emotions. Among their results: decreased aggression and violence.

In the wake of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, the media has trumpeted the predictable calls for tighter gun controls and widespread speculation about the shooter’s mental health. But those calling for change have done remarkably little soul-searching about the education system that allowed such a disturbed individual to wander through its hallways speaking little and avoiding eye contact, apparently completely ignored.

...Could the tragedy at Sandy Hook have been prevented if Adam Lanza had grown up going to schools where he was encouraged to express his emotions and solve conflicts creatively—or better yet, trained and supported by his classmates and teachers to do so? read article

Part 4 Of the President's Plan: Improving Mental Health Services

As President Obama said, “We are going to need to work on making access to mental health care as easy as access to a gun.” Today, less than half of children and adults with diagnosable mental health problems receive the treatment they need...We need to do more than just keep guns out of the hands of people with serious mental illness; we need to identify mental health issues early and help individuals get the treatment they need before these dangerous situations develop.

Read the Mental Health Section of the President's Plan on Gun Voilence below:

Triple the national and state mental health budgets NOW!

Mental illness isn't something we talk about in the United States. The problem isn't lack of resources or lack of understanding about how we can make life better for people with mental illness. The problem is stigma -- and that starts from the top. If our leaders aren't demanding that people take mental health as seriously as any other health problem, people feel like they have to hide it.

After the tragedy in Newtown, it's more clear than ever that it's time for our government to properly fund health care. If you agree, please sign too.